[Amey Kulkarni]

Sumbly was responsible for setting up Triumph motorcycles in India in 2013, leading its commercial growth and building the iconic British motorcycle brand in the Indian market.



Sumbly has spearheaded Triumph's operations in India since the British brand entered the Indian market in 2013. Under his leadership, Triumph Motorcycles has grown on to become the second largest premium motorcycle brand in the country, after Harley-Davidson.

Link - https://auto.ndtv.com/news/vimal-sum...rector-1894353

Cheers,
Amey

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Interesting for a couple of reasons-

1. He is rumoured to be headed the Harley Davidson way.
2. I remember reading he was instrumental in the Bajaj - Triumph partnership. He was a former Bajaj head too.

3. He had also gone on record stating that Triumph considers India as a big potential market in the future due to their entry in to the mid segment.
4. Harley Davidson just announced their plans to follow this route earlier in the week. Infact, their press statement clearly emphasized on the Indian and Asian markets.

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Under his leadership, Triumph Motorcycles has grown on to become the second largest premium motorcycle brand in the country, after Harley-Davidson.

That's wrong, possibly copied by the source article from PR statements.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

That's wrong, possibly copied by the source article from PR statements.

+1

Not sure why the article has been so generic wherein the market share of Kawasaki has majorly been in their favour over triumph and concomitant HD.

2014 was interesting though.



Cheers,
Amey

[GTO]

I don't think too much of his business skills at Triumph, as he mostly copied whatever Harley-Davidson was doing. Nothing different.

Also, the power rating episode left a really bad taste in my mouth - related thread.

That happened on his watch. To slyly update the website without even informing existing customers was a shady move. What's worse is how they handled the reactions. Among other things, they went on to legally threaten RiderZone for a post of theirs.

There was also the stalling issue which bothered owners because of the lack of response from the company - related link. Just sad. When you cannot even take care of a small number of customers as a premium brand, it says a lot.

[schitre05]

Originally Posted by GTO

I don't think too much of his business skills at Triumph, as he mostly copied whatever Harley-Davidson was doing. Nothing different.

Also, the power rating episode left a really bad taste in my mouth - related thread.

That happened on his watch. To slyly update the website without even informing existing customers was a shady move. What's worse is how they handled the reactions. Among other things, they went on to legally threaten RiderZone for a post of theirs.

There was also the stalling issue which bothered owners because of the lack of response from the company - related link. Just sad. When you cannot even take care of a small number of customers as a premium brand, it says a lot.

Initially I was impressed with his rise to the position of MD, however as time went by, he somehow couldn't capitalize on the "Triumph" brand and its following, Yes it was not helped by the above mentioned fiasco.
The only silver lining to his tenure being the deal between Triumph and Bajaj to bring in smaller capacity bikes.
I for one see him coming back to this Triumph-Bajaj collaboration once it picks up steam and there are products on the floor.

[quickdraw]

Good riddance I say! A brand like Triumph deserves a better MD who can steer it away from the disasters what it has gone through since inception. Most of Triumph owners have a pet name for this guy let me not share that, also there are countless stories of him like revving a brand new bike like crazy during the new Street Triple launch (from a cold start) and then delivering the same bike to an unsuspecting customer.

As GTO rightfully mentioned that there was the Power rating fiasco, followed by the widespread stalling issue which I was vilified for and threatened by his team. There are also countless issues that owners like us face regarding parts availability and dealers literally lying to customers about things and getting their way. It has literally been the worst experience of my life buying and owning a Triumph, the product is amazing but every single interaction with Triumph India was sub-par.

Even to date I stay banned from all Triumph social media and WhatsApp for getting the movement started against them and there is a silent movement growing with Street Twin owners who have been facing major issues and not getting any support from Triumph India. The road ahead is bright, motorcycling in India is going through its golden age and seeing immense growth and investment I really hope Triumph India leads the way on this front because its quite an iconic brand and people who've spent their hard earned money on their dream machines deserve better treatment.

[ACM]

So was Vimal fired?, asked to go? given time to resign, find a job and leave? or left on this own?

Why does HD want Vimal?; given his track record or one blunder after another at Triumph, yes he set it up but HD is already setup so the only publicly visible positive is not required at HD.

[schitre05]

Latest development according to Rushlane

It is speculated that Mr. Sumbly is moving to Royal Enfield

https://www.rushlane.com/royal-enfie...-12277209.html

[Sting]

Dumbly, as some of us Triumph owners referred to him. My personal interaction with him left me thoroughly unimpressed by his acumen and views during the de-tuning fiasco and what followed after that.

He might have started the sale and assembly of Triumph motorcycle in India but that's where I think his contribution ended. Another list of his 'accomplishment' was the acquisition of a 100 acre (?) land bank near Bangalore to setup a manufacturing unit - the project did not see the light of the day.

Triumph might just prosper without him.

[mail4ajo]

Wow, I didn't know Triumph was in bad shape in India. The street twin is a great beginner machine and needs due attention. Once they have a negative experience, doubt if they will move up the value chain.

I chose Triumph in the US for the customer service. Talked with several top folks at Triumph via Linkedin before my purchase and after. And that gave me a great exp at the dealership.

[Amey Kulkarni]

So finally the news is out!

Former Triumph India MD, Vimal Sumbly to join Royal Enfield. He will take charge as the head of Asia Pacific region.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/65630013.cms

Cheers,
Amey

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

So finally the news is out!

Former Triumph India MD, Vimal Sumbly to join Royal Enfield. He will take charge as the head of Asia Pacific region.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/65630013.cms

Cheers,
Amey

From what I've read about his management style and work ethic, he's ended up at the right place. With RE set to launch the 650cc twins his entry into the company comes at the right time. I am now a little less inclined to buy a RE product.

[.sushilkumar]

I am bit skeptical, posting on this thread given the negative perception about this man. Same time, I am bit surprised with people citing various technical goof up as his deeds & people attributing everything to him.

No doubt, as a CEO, he was responsible for everything but i am sure we all will agree that he did setup triumph Operations and provide them with a foot hold in price sensitive market like ours. If i am a investor, i would be happy to hire him despite few goof ups in a otherwise good tenure at top.

By Indian standards, he did good job and i am sure he will do good for royal enfield for asian pacific market.